Licensing hold-up causes panic buy of household medicines

Common over-the-counter treatments are now selling on auction websites for three to four times more than their face value.

The products in question were originally sold by company SSL, which has now been bought by Reckett Benckiser. During the handover, questions were raised over the validity of certain licenses held by Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.

The products under review include an earwax softening brand, a popular remedy for indigestion and a medicine for stomach upsets.

Manufacture of these products is currently on hold until the licensing issues can be resolved. A spokeswoman for the company stated: “RB’s acquisition of SSL brought a large number of new niche brands into the RB portfolio, many of them licensed, and over recent months every product within each of these ranges has been individually reviewed.”

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